This is an exciting time of year for candy lovers. Americans purchase an estimated 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween every year. For perspective, imagine 16 billion fun sized candy bars. If that doesn’t inspire you to make an appointment for a checkup with your dentist, we’re not sure what will. However, moderate candy consumption is not an issue if you keep up with your oral hygiene and regular dental exams. As the holiday season ramps up with Halloween coming in less than a week, your Kentucky dentist, Dr. Henry, has a fun quiz on some candy facts.

Questions

Q1. How many pounds of chocolate will be sold during Halloween week?

A. 90,000
B. 90 million
C. 90 billion
D. 90 trillion

Q2. True or false – The top selling candy at Halloween is candy corn.

Q3. True or false – Sugar causes cavities.

Answers

A1.  Approximately ninety million pounds of chocolate candy will be sold during Halloween week. Halloween leads other holidays in chocolate consumption.  Roughly 65 million pounds are sold during the week leading up to Easter, and 48 million pounds are purchased during Valentine’s week.

A2. TRUE – Candy Corn is the top selling candy, at 20 million pounds purchased every year. Candy Corn is also the most searched-for candy related term on Google.

A3. FALSE – This is a bit of a trick question, but technically, sugar itself does not cause cavities. Sugar is a great contributor to cavities, however. Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria that cause cavities, feed on sugar. They metabolize sucrose into lactic acid, which softens tooth enamel and makes decay possible. So, rubbing sugar directly onto your teeth won’t technically give you a cavity, but it will be a part of the tooth decay process.

Kentucky Dentist Offers Dental Checkups

If you are due for a dental checkup, or have any dental concerns, Dr. Henry would love to see you. To schedule your appointment contact our Erlanger, KY dentist office at 859-344-8500. We are happy to serve families from Cincinnati, Crestview Hills, Ft. Mitchell, Florence, Union, Independence, Taylor Mill, and other Kentucky communities around the 41018 zip code.